Wait doesn't chai and tea mean the same thing?
When you order Chai Tea from your favorite coffee shop, you probably had no idea about your multi-lingual skills. Yes the words “chai” and “tea” refer to exactly the same thing, just in different languages.In Hindi culture, Chai refers to many kinds of teas not just the blend we have become accustomed to. Almost 5,000 years in China they called their new steeped beverage made from dried leaves and buds, “chá.” That is, of course, a basic version of how the word has evolved in every language. Other languages use the word “tea” or “chai” to refer to lots of different kinds of drinks. And then—just to further complicate things, here we are the American geniuses, who want to make us think that “chai” means “milky and spicy tea."So next time you order a Chai Tea you can have a little chuckle knowing what you really ordered.
